A WOMAN who grew up at the Good Shepherd care home told last night how homeless young girls end up with “nowhere to go and no one to turn to”.

Teenagers Niamh Lafferty and Georgia Rowe were at the Good Shepherd when they jumped to their deaths from the Erskine Bridge in 2009. The tragedy has echoes of the deaths of Sammy Joe and Catherine.

Paula Walker, now 39, was in care at the Bishopton home – and told how her heart now goes out to the families of Sammy Joe and Catherine.

She said: “People will be asking why these girls felt there was no way out but we’ll probably never know the answers.

“When you are in the care home system, it is difficult not to blame yourself. It is as if you are in there because of something you did and no matter how much you know that is not the case, you still can’t shake that feeling.

“In my case, I felt really, really lonely and alone.”

Paula says she was bullied and abused by older girls at one care home and by a member of staff at another.

The mother of four still suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. Psychiatrists say it is because of her experiences in care homes.

She said: “I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to. God forbid that children or teenagers in care still feel the same way as I did.